Most Discussed

There are many implications in altering penalty rates, according to a professor of employment relations

TWO-THIRDS of jobseekers say that the interviewer influences their decision to accept a position, according to a study of almost 6,000 staffing directors, hiring managers and jobseekers. It also found that 70 per cent of jobseekers find interviewers who act like they have no time to talk to them as the most annoying behaviour of hiring managers and staffing directors, while other irritating behaviours exhibited by interviewers include:

Withholding information about position 57%

Turning interview into cross-examination 51%

Showing up late 48%

Source: DDI and Monster

Workers miss out on pay raise opportunities

NEARLY ONE-quarter of Australian workers have demanded pay increases in the last three months as a result of the tight employee market, a survey of 1,987 people has found. Furthermore, 44 per cent of contractors were able to charge themselves out at a substantially higher rate than this time last year.

Source: Talent2

Aussie men reach out for help

THIRTY-FOUR per cent of all employees who seek counselling in the workplace are male, an analysis of 725,000 employees across 389 Australian workplaces has found. While 22 per cent of employees surveyed were referred to counselling by their manager, more than 50 per cent of respondents said they had referred themselves to counselling. In addition, about 70 per cent of workplace counselling cases were directly related to personal, non-work issues, despite businesses and organisations funding the support.

Source: Australian Catholic University/Davidson Trahaire Corpsych

Driving workers to distraction

FORTY-FOUR per cent of companies believe talkative colleagues are the main disruption to workplace productivity, followed by web surfing (27 per cent), personal emails (19 per cent) and the traditional smoke break (7 per cent). With respondents from 15 countries, the global survey also found that personal calls were considered the least common distraction from work at 3 per cent.

Source: Robert Walters

Giving need business alignment

SEVENTY-SEVEN per cent of companies are aligning their corporate giving programs more closely with business needs, a survey of 50 UScompanies has found. Other factors critical to corporate giving practices are:

The top three management priorities are the relationship to the broader corporate citizenship agenda (mentioned by 72 per cent of companies); measurements of results and outcomes (63 per cent) and volunteerism (61 per cent). The size of the business presence in a foreign market is the most important factor in determining international giving priorities (39 per cent), followed by humanitarian needs (29 per cent) and opportunity for business growth in local markets (24 per cent).

Source: The Conference Board

One in four women the main breadwinner by 2030

ONE-QUARTER of women in the UK are expected to be the household’s breadwinner by 2030, while more women than men will have the last say regarding home financial decisions by 2020. The research found that despite women continuing to earn less than men per month (£1,080 ($2,670) against £1,486 ($3,673)), 20-something female earners were catching up. The equivalent earnings of women in this age bracket was 93 per cent of men’s wages in 2000, but has since increased to 96 per cent in 2007 – a rate that would see women overtake men in 2015.

Source: The Future Foundation

UK: HR bonuses on the demise

SEVENTY-SIX per cent of HR executives in the UKwere awarded bonuses this year, compared with 79 per cent in 2006. The average bonus payment was £4,075 ($10,010), compared with £4,708 ($11,565) the previous year. Furthermore, the rise in wages has slowed over the past year to 6 per cent, compared with 7 per cent for 2006.

Source: Chartered Management Institute

Flexible working retains talent

ONE THIRD of the companies in Singaporehave flexible work arrangements, and more than 70 per cent of these companies have found them to provide business benefits. A survey of 97 local and foreign companies in Singapore found that companies are projecting paying an average salary increase of 4.3 per cent this year, which is almost the same as last year’s actual average of 4.2 per cent.

Source: Watson Wyatt

Generation X changes Australian workforce

SIXTY-SEVEN per cent of Australians enjoy working for a generation X boss far more than they do a baby boomer boss, according to a survey of nearly 2,000 people. Furthermore, 37 per cent say the Aussie workplace is changing dramatically because of generation X managers, overwhelmingly for the better.

Source: Talent2

Base pay increases remain steady in 2007

THE HIGHEST-performing employees in the US (about 12 per cent of the workforce) are expected to receive base pay increases of 5.7 per cent in 2007, compared to 3.5 per cent for average performers (52 per cent of the workforce) and 1.7 per cent for the weakest performers (3 per cent of the workforce). A survey of more than 1,000 employers across the US also found that companies are using the following processes to continually develop internal talent: